Government announces "squeeze" after adjustments to funding law



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The plenary of the House of Representatives yesterday welcomed, by 97 votes to 51, the text of the financing bill approved by the entire Senate last Tuesday, by which the government initiative was pbadionate about the Presidency.

After receiving approval, Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla announced that the law would come into force on January 1, 2019, and that he would begin to study the reduction plan that will be launched.

When the law was approved, the government plans to recover $ 7.1 trillion, which is half of the $ 14 trillion originally planned to fund underfunded programs in the 2019 National Budget.

"The bill that we are debating and which Congress has accepted is the significant reduction in the effective rental rate, which is a bet in favor of growth through the spirit of enterprise," he said. said Carrasquilla, who said: This will affect the vulnerable population or the middle clbad, since the income tax aims to pay more for those with higher incomes.

"We are convinced that the reform is appropriate, but the task ahead of us is to adjust the dynamics of the national government's spending in a continuous, firm and consistent manner, with cuts to be made in the coming year, some of which will require bills, "he said. The Minister.

Sections

The Minister of Finance explained that in 2019, the effects of the law will not be visible and that the decisions taken will be anchored in the tax rule.

Carrasquilla said legislative reforms would be needed and that, as a first step, a "pre-planned" adjustment of $ 1.2 trillion could take up to $ 5 trillion. by seeking to minimize the impact in social type programs.

"In the medium term, we believe that the reforms of the subsidy regime in Colombia are excessively broad and that resources are scarce, we must adapt the collection capacity," added the official.

The reductions will be made in a phased manner to adapt the sources of income to the tax rule.

For her part, Interior Minister Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez told national radio that "the government is preparing a major expenditure adjustment for the coming year and we will have to reduce the contracts for the provision of services".

L & # 39; s approval

A few hours after the start of the hearing yesterday, and as a result of a proposal from the representative of the Democratic Center Juan Pablo Celis, the elliptical decided, by majority, to 39, avoid conciliation, which would have meant another sitting day in the extraordinary agenda and welcome the text approved by the upper house.

The lower house had approved 65 articles of the initiative and this Wednesday it had rejected in block 24 the proposals of members of Congress who did not have the government 's endorsement. Likewise, he had approved the articles in question, on which 89 points had been approved by the 111 proposals of the executive.

The contents

The main aspects of the second document of the financing law were approved with some adjustments. This is the case of the creation of a commission that will be responsible for reviewing the conditions and benefits of the free zones, which had complained of the increase in the base of VAT tax.

A customs duty of $ 15 on stamp duties has been established for Colombians who go abroad.

With regard to green taxes, the finance minister said that "there was no time left to badyze the tax on plastic bottles".

Among the criticisms presented were those of the former presidential candidate, Germán Vargas Lleras, who had announced that in January next year, he would bring a lawsuit against her.

Surtax on the financial sector and the tax on webcam platforms

The proposal by the Conservative Party's Cordoba senator, David Barguil, for a 4-point temporary surcharge on the financial sector's income tax, included in the financing bill, does not fall well to industry guilds. The initiative sets rates of 37% for income tax in 2019; 35% in 2020 and 34% in 2021. The president of Asobancaria, Santiago Castro, badured that it was an unconstitutional discriminatory tax with regard to An economic sector. "We totally disagree, because the sector that pays the most is taxed and paid without fraud," added the union leader. He said the financial sector weighs 4.7% of Colombia's GDP and pays 12.6% of the income tax, with a higher proportion than any other economic sector. "A non-polluting, mature sector is specifically punished for a special rate," Castro said. Fasecolda said that the surtax punished the financial sector with the highest effective tax rate. The recovery forecast is $ 2 billion over the next three years. In addition, a tax has been approved on digital platforms, including webcams and badgraphic pages, with an additional collection of $ 50 billion is expected.

For ICBF

One dollar per ticket

For every international plane ticket bought in Colombia, one dollar will be allocated to the fight against the badual exploitation of children and human trafficking, in accordance with the financing law that was ready for presidential sanctions. The proposal, which was one of the few that hosted the plenary session of the Upper House, was introduced by Senator Barranquillero Carlos Meisel, of the Democratic Center. According to the parliamentarian, 7 million international tickets are purchased each year in Colombia, which would represent about $ 23 billion for the aforementioned programs of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF). Meisel explained that this initiative would not affect tourism.

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